Water Quality in Thirty Freshwater Springs and Twenty Four Brackish Springs in the Karst Area to Realize Sustainable Water Resources Management

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Manuscript ID; sustainability-1105894   Title; Water Quality in Thirty Freshwater Springs and Twenty Four Brackish Springs in the Karst Area to Realize Sustainable Water Resources Management  

As clean water is an unlimited and sustainable need that must be fulfilled every day, not only regarding the sufficient amount of discharge but in terms of quality it meets a proper standard and in quantity, quality and continuity. The authors have tried to analyze the quality of water in thirty freshwater springs and twenty four brackish springs in the karst area of Buton Tengah. The proposed work needs substantial revision before publication;  

1- Abstract section needed to write more scientifically bu mentioning the results in more detail.  

2- Please discuss about water scarcity in more detail and water treatment method should be expressed. The following references recommended to cite   - Feasible analysis of reusing flowback produced water in the operational performances of oil reservoirs - Mathematical modeling of injectivity damage with oil droplets in the waste produced water re-injection of the linear flow - Design and construction of a micro-photo bioreactor in order to dairy wastewater treatment by micro-algae: parametric study - An overview of management, recycling, and wasting disposal in the drilling operation of oil and gas wells in Iran - The main role of energy sustainability indicators on the water management - Using photo-fenton and floatation techniques for the sustainable management of flow-back produced water reuse in shale reservoirs exploration  

3- In section 1, Please compare and highlight the novelty of your work by adding and comparing at least one paper and discuss why your work is novel and why it is important. It is of essence for research articles.  

4- line 132, you mentioned analysis of ......... Could you please explain the analysis method as it is necessary. If statistics, please provide the detail?  

5- Quality of figures are not good and distinguishable???  

6- In section 2, there is no materials and should be changed as Methods. Please explain in more detail    

7- Abbreviation section should be added  

8- Could you please explain how do you achieve the data in Table 4-7????  

9- Conclusion is really short and non-informative????

Author Response

Please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Water Quality in Thirty Freshwater Springs and Twenty Four Brackish Springs in the Karst Area to Realize Sustainable Water Resources Management

Comments

In my opinion it is not research article, case studies/feasibility is consultants work and not eligible for publication in scientific literature in the form it is presented here.

In my opinion only when cases are used to obtain general insights or extrapolate for other applications/sites this can be done. In the current for the paper is "just" a feasibility study.

I think that for publication these results must be used to obtain general insights or perspectives for Indonesia.

There is no clear goal/intended contribution pointed out; What is the specific study goal?

This paper reports a considerable amount of results for selected case study, however important question is why is your case study representative? Authors could add a discussion in which they reflect on theirs results. What does this mean for water management as a whole?

The English writing should be further polished.

As a general remark, I propose to rewrite the paper.

Author Response

Response:

• In part 1 (introduction) the explanation has been added and revised again on page 3 as follows:

One of the most important initial stages in planning and managing water resources is to research the quality of springs in Buton Tengah District. The aim of research on the quality of springs in Buton Tengah Regency is to increase the availability of clean water sources for residents in Buton Tengah Regency. Research on the quality of springs in Buton Tengah Regency is one of the efforts made by the Buton Tengah Regency Government to meet the increasing demands of water sources in the region. Therefore, the Buton Tengah Regency Government in collaboration with the Universitas Halu Oleo Research and Community Service Institute carried out these activities. The results of research on the quality of springs in Buton Tengah Regency are the first steps to formulate a water resource allocation policy in Buton Tengah Regency. The results of this study are expected to be used as a reference in formulating policies on the allocation of water resources in the region. Based on research conducted by Fitra, et al., (2019) regarding the effectiveness of the processing process at the drinking water depot in Buton Tengah Regency, it was concluded that the raw water testing carried out on 12 refill drinking water depots obtained 100% results that did not meet the criteria for production water. Whereas in our study we analyzed the quality of springs in the karst area of Buton Tengah Regency for the availability of clean water sources which can later be used as drinking water for the people of Buton Tengah Regency.

• The discussion has been added and revised again in section 4 (discussion) on page 12 as follows:

Changes in the area of protected areas or water catchment areas due to illegal logging and land-use change resulting in critical land and decreasing quality of water catchment areas in Buton Tengah Regency will have a direct impact on decreasing the quantity and quality of clean water sources for the population. Most of the water sources found in Buton Tengah Regency come from groundwater and surface water, whose availability is decreasing to meet community needs, so it is necessary to plan and manage water resources.

Following the characteristics of the Buton Tengah Regency area which is dominated by karst areas, most of the water sources are in the form of springs located between the rocks. Between the rocks, which are natural containers for water storage, are small caves. These caves are generally a source of water (springs) which are widely found in the Buton Tengah Regency area. Fulfilling the needs of the community for clean water that lives in the capital of Buton Tengah Regency is mostly served by the drinking water supply system. The source of water used generally comes from cave springs around residential areas. For people who live in rural areas, they cannot yet be served by the drinking water supply system so that people experience problems in providing clean water to meet their daily needs. Geographical, topographical, and geological conditions, as well as different aspects of human resources in each region of Indonesia, cause the availability of raw water and different conditions for clean water services which can have different implications for the provision of clean water for each region. To minimize the differences that may occur, a guideline for the operation of a Drinking Water Supply System is needed, to realize the provision of clean water that is of good quality and can meet existing needs. Clean water that is deemed fit for use for certain uses is determined based on water class (Sudia et al., 2018).

• Thank you for any improvement suggestions and opportunities to improve them. We have rewritten the improvements back into our paper. "Please see the attachment".

Author Response File: Author Response.doc

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

It can be published in the current version

Reviewer 2 Report

Thank you for answer for the reviewer comments. No further comments.